Three important take-aways from the 2025 World Health Organization’s Report on Global Food Insecurity via include:
1-On a global scale, food insecurity deceased
2-Rural areas experience more food insecurity
3-The cost of a healthy meal has increased globally
The report follows at the link below:
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
Relatively Low-Cost Fall Vegetable Sheet Pan Bake by Ruth Paget
Fall vegetables are easy to cook, if you bake them on a sheet pan.
I often made fall vegetables this way when I lived in Wisconsin outside Madison. I would eat them with cheddar cheese on the side and a glass of low-sugar cranberry juice.
I thought I had a pretty good lacto-ovo vegetarian meal this way. There was calcium and protein in the cheese, vitamin C in the cranberry juice, and many nitride in the vegetables. Iron was the one nutrient missing in large quantities in this meal, so I did eat chicken and beef at other meals with the express purpose of obtaining some iron.
The cost of this meal was very low in Wisconsin. I could take one or two of each vegetable and still get a pretty nice meal together.
The following is very loose recipe whose quantities can change depending on what is available at the supermarket or market:
Ingredients:
-1 cup olive oil
-crushed garlic and/or shallots
-potatoes cut into fourths
-carrots cut into fourths
-turnips cut into fourths
-rutabagas cut into fourths
-celery cut into two-inch sections
-red onions cut into fourths
-sea salt
-thyme or herbes de Provence
Steps:
1-Place olive oil and crushed garlic and/or shallots in a large bowl.
2-Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
3-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
4-Add the chopped vegetables and turn them with a spoon to thoroughly coat them in olive oil and garlic.
5-Place the vegetables on the sheet pan and place them in the oven. Bake the vegetables for ½ hour. Take the vegetables out and place them on a counter. Close the oven door to retain heat. Starting at a top-left edge, begin to methodically turn over every vegetable on an opposite side.
6-Place the vegetables back in the oven and cook for another ½ hour from the time you place them back in the oven.
7-Poke the vegetables with a fork to test for doneness. Carrots, turnips, and rutabagas take the longest to cook. If you want very tender vegetables, cook the vegetables another 15 minutes or finish them up in the microwave.
8-Season with sea salt and thyme leaves or herbes de Provence.
Bon Appétit!
By Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about Dan Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making,and the Carmel Valley History Center
-writer of 1900+ Central Coadt California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
The University of Chicago has already raised $100 million as part of a $300 million initiative to fund scholarships for students from rural and small town backgrounds at the university.
For more information about this initiative, I have posted a link below from the University of Chicago News:
Reposted by Ruth Paget
Coq au Vin Made and Filmed by Florence Paget reposted by Ruth Paget
My daughter Florence Paget made coq au vin, a French chicken stew made with wine, and filmed herself doing it in the following TikTok video:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTUU3FuYS/
Coq au vin is a nice dish that you can cook with drumsticks, thighs, and wings even.
Bon appetite!
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
Super Useful Lemons from Costco in Sand City (outside Monterey), California by Ruth Paget
On my family’s recent outing for groceries, we bought a 3-pound bag of lemons for $5.99 (as of 9-5-2026) at the Costco in Sand City, California outside Monterey.
Some quick and easy uses for lemons include squeezing it in or over the following items:
-iced Darjeeling tea
-Italian sparkling water
-lemonade
-fruit salad
-poached or fried fish
-rice pilaf
-deep-fried Monterey Bay calamari (squid)
I also learned from my Greek-American roommate’s mom that you can add lemon to:
-homemade or canned chicken noodle soup - (if you are using canned chicken noodle soup, you might want to add crushed garlic and chopped parsley as well)
-roast chicken and potatoes along with garlic, olive oil, and oregano before roasting it
-purée of canned white cannellini beans with lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt, white pepper, and olive oil for a simple bean dip – (I also have done this with black beans and borlotti beans to make simple dips)
My favorite lemon recipe to make with lemons is marinated lemon and garlic shrimp that I put on skewers and grill with oregano sprinkled on at the end with sea salt. I made this all the time when I lived in polar vortex Germany during a swine flu epidemic and believe this dish saved my life.
These are my favorite savory dishes to make with lemons. For sweet dishes, I like lemon meringue pie and lemon bar cookies.
Happy Cooking!
By Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe's Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
I purchased The New Vegetarian Cookbook: 500+ Recipes for a Lifetime of Great Meals by America’s Test Kitchen today for $4.99 on Amazon Kindle today (9-8-2026).
I like just about anything America’s Test Kitchen produces. I have posted a link to the 639-page book below:
Amazon might be doing double points today as part of its rewards program.
Happy Cooking!
By Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
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